Hope
by Jane Poirot
Summary: Yes, it's yet another AU Cranny baby fic, yipee. Only it's partly AU and partly not...


**Disclaimer: Degrassi does not belong to me; if it did, it wouldn't be the shit hole it is now, and for that matter, neither does Gilmore Girls.**

* * *

"Come on Manuela, you can do it!" my mother encouraged me.

I realized I was justified in believing this would hurt like hell. Not even the women who have been through it and describe it on TV make it sound nearly as painful as it actually is. Lorelei Gilmore on Gilmore Girls described it to be like 'doing splits over dynamite'. Close, but not quite.

Well, I guess it's one of those oh-so _joyful_ parts of having a baby. At least Craig is here; when my dad kicked me out, Craig and Joey allowed me to move in with them. And my mother, although she was scared of dad, would come and visit me in secret everyday to know how I was doing and how the baby was doing. I still remember the look on her face when I showed her the ultrasound picture. A big grin spread across her face and she couldn't stop smiling for three days straight.

The only thing that will surpass that to what will forever be remembered is the day I heard my child's heartbeat for the very first time. It is truly the most beautiful sound in the world. Not even an entire choir of angels could amount to the beauty of that sound. Craig agreed with me when I made that statement; he had been there, too.

Oh, Craig…when I found out I was pregnant, I was almost sure he'd leave me. Cousin Mary's boyfriend left her too when she told him she was expecting Cousin Phillipa. But to my surprise, Craig was incredibly supportive. He actually _wanted_ this baby, he really _wanted_ it. He even brought a baby name book to school so we could choose names together. Oh sure, Ashley spotted us with it and made it her business to announce my pregnancy to the cafeteria…well, fuck her. What did _she_ know? Then again, I guess I can't really blame her since Craig was her boyfriend and everything. But still, she should've kept her fucking mouth shut.

And Emma…how could I ever forget the kindness of Emma? Her mom had her at this age, so I knew she'd understand. She even offered to baby-sit for any night I felt as though I needed a day-off. I told her thanks, but Craig wouldn't want to keep his eye off this baby for even a second!

"Keep going!" called out the doctor. "Just one more push!"

I pushed with all my might, wishing that men could give birth so they'd know what it was like.

Suddenly, I heard a sound that made my heart skip a beat: It was the sound of a baby crying.

_My baby crying._

The doctor held the baby up and said, "Congratulations. It's a girl."

A girl…just as Craig had wanted. I looked up at Craig and smiled. Now we could name her Hope, which was what this bundle of joy had given us about life, that just when it seems as though things will never get better, a glimmer of hope will chase all the clouds away.

I could barely hear the excitement all around me as Craig cut Hope's umbilical cord. I just lay there, absolutely euphoric. I was a mother. Craig was a father. _We were parents._ Who cares if we're only fourteen and fifteen? Craig will get a job to support Hope and I'll continue to go to Degrassi in the fall. Spike will baby-sit Hope. Craig and I will find a little house for us and Hope to live in. Even if we run into money problems, we'll just go into some kind of government program that helps support teenage parents.

"Manny?" said Craig, walking towards me, holding Hope in his arms. "Would you like to hold our daughter?"

I nodded and stretched out my arms.

Craig walked up to me and placed Hope in my arms…

* * *

"Manuela?"

Manny snapped out of her fantasy and turned to see her mother standing in the doorway of her bedroom.

"It's been a week since the abortion, honey," said Mrs. Santos softly. "You can't stay locked up in here forever. Sooner or later, you have to go back to school. Promise me you'll at least _try_ this Monday."

Manny looked out the window and saw a loving, happy couple pushing their baby in a stroller.

"I'll try, Mom," she said softly, fighting back tears. "I'll try."

_End_


End file.
